Eight-million-year-old monkey tooth fossil discovered in Abu Dhabi

A rare fossilised tooth of an ancient guenon monkey was unearthed from Shuwaihat Island in Abu Dhabi, WAM reports.

Although the discovery was made in 2009, it was made public only on July 3 in the scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, by an international team of scientists from educational institutions around the world, in addition to the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

“Old World monkeys are the most successful and diverse group of living non-human primates, in terms of the number of species, behavioural repertoires and ecology. They have much to teach us about the processes of evolution and the principles of ecology, and are among our closest living relatives,” according to Old World Monkeys by Paul F. Whitehead and Clifford J. Jolly.

Familiar examples of these species, which are commonly found in Africa and Asia, include baboons, mangabeys, leaf monkeys, langurs, as well as African and Asian macaques.

Estimated to be between 6.5 and 8 million years old, the fossilised molar tooth of the Old World guenon monkey could help scientists in understanding the reasons for their migration into the Arabian Peninsula, which is why the discovery is considered profound.

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Eight-million-year-old monkey tooth fossil discovered in Abu Dhabi